Very infirmative description are available in ghis presentation verified from WHO regarding Covid-19 safety at work pplace.

1. Introduction
COVID-19 AND WORK
Staying healthy and safe at work during the
COVID-19 pandemic

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©WHO2021
Course context
Workplaces have played an important role
in both the spread and mitigation of
pandemic throughout the world.
Being provided a healthy and safe
workplace throughout the pandemic and
beyond is a human right.
Maintaining open, safe and healthy
workplaces is of vital importance to
protecting livelihoods, wellbeing and
public health.
WHO / Blink Media - E. Jabi

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©WHO2021
Learning objectives
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
▪ explain what SARS-CoV-2 is (the virus which causes COVID-19), how it is
transmitted at work and which workers are most likely to be affected;
▪ apply infection prevention and control (IPC) principles at your workplace;
▪ apply the hierarchy of control to COVID-19 at work;
▪ understand and contribute to worksite risk assessment for COVID-19 exposure;
▪ describe how to respond to an outbreak at your workplace;
▪ explain how to manage the health and safety of yourself and your workers
throughout periods of worksite closures and teleworking; and
▪ explain how to safely return to the workplace.

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©WHO2021
Target audience
▪ This course is intended to guide:
▪ workers and their representatives
▪ business leaders
▪ employers and managers
▪ health and safety professionals.
▪ It focuses on:
▪ non-healthcare workplaces
▪ small and medium sized enterprises.
WHO / Blink Media - L. Poole

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©WHO2021
Course structure
Module 1: Infection prevention and
control (IPC) at the workplace
Module 2: Assessing risk of
transmission at work
Module 3: Responding to workplace
outbreaks
Module 4: Safer and healthier
teleworking
Module 5: Preparing for worksite
reopening
WHO / Blink Media - N.K. Acquah

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©WHO2021
What is a coronavirus?
▪ Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of
viruses that cause a wide range of illnesses
from the common cold to more severe diseases.
▪ i.e., Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
▪ A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that
has not been previously identified in humans.
▪ SARS-CoV-2 has been identified as the
coronavirus strain responsible for causing
COVID-19 disease.

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©WHO2021
How does SARS-CoV-2 spread?
Droplet
Contact
Airborne
Respiratory droplets (from speaking, singing, coughing or sneezing) from
an infected individual can reach the mouth, nose or eyes of a susceptible
person and can result in infection when in close contact with an infected
person.
Airborne transmission is the spread of an infectious organism by
dissemination of aerosols that remain infectious when suspended in the air
over long distances and time. This occurs during aerosol generating
procedures in health care settings. This may also be possible in closed,
crowded settings with poor ventilation, but this is not fully understood.
Droplets expelled by infected individuals can contaminate surfaces and
objects. Having contact with those contaminated surfaces or objects followed
by touching the mouth, nose or eyes can transmit the infection to the mucosal
membranes of a susceptible individual.

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©WHO2021
When do people who are exposed get sick? (1/2)
Source: Clinical Management of COVID-19: interim guidance. 27 May 2020 World Health Organization https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/332196.
▪ Once a person has been exposed to the virus, they
usually develop symptoms within 1 - 14 days.
▪ Common symptoms include fever, cough, tiredness,
loss of taste or smell.
▪ Less common symptoms may include, sore throat,
headache, aches and pains, diarrhea.
▪ Some people who have been infected may never
develop symptoms. These people can still spread
the virus to others.

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©WHO2021
When do people who are exposed get sick? (2/2)
Source: Clinical Management of COVID-19: interim guidance. 27 May 2020 World Health Organization https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/332196.
▪ Once a person has been exposed to the virus, they
usually develop symptoms within 1 - 14 days.
▪ The average time until a person develops symptoms
after being exposed to the virus is 5 - 7 days.
▪ Sometimes it can be up to 14 days before a person
has symptoms. This is why is it recommended
that people who are identified as exposed stay in
quarantine for up to 14 days.
▪ People can spread the virus and be contagious up to
3 days before they develop any symptoms. This is
called “pre-symptomatic transmission.”
▪ Some people infected with the virus may never develop
symptom; however, they can still spread the virus to
others. This is called “asymptomatic transmission”.

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©WHO2021
COVID-19 transmission in workplaces (1/2)
▪ The risk of transmission of the COVID-19 virus in a workplace can be from
exposure to droplets from an infected person and/or contact with contaminated
surfaces.
▪ Crowded and inadequately ventilated workplaces are where the virus may spread
by droplet or aerosol more efficiently.
▪ Droplets are primarily generated from an infected (source) person during coughing,
sneezing and talking.
▪ Infected individuals may be able to transmit virus before they even know they are
infectious. They may come to work before developing symptoms and infect others.

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©WHO2021
COVID-19 transmission in workplaces (2/2)
▪ Increased risk of transmission is found at workplaces with:
▪ high density of people
▪ close person-to-person contact
▪ frequent contact with the public/clients
▪ cold and dry work environments
▪ indoors with poor ventilation
▪ shared transportation, housing and dining facilities.
▪ Outbreaks of COVID-19 have been described in nearly every kind of workplace.
Preventing transmission is important in all workplaces.